El abrazo in Madrid, Spain by estudio UNTERCIO

Article source: estudio UNTERCIO

“El abrazo” bets on making compatible housing units quality and urban fabric. In order to improve the relation with the city, decision was made in reducing building scale, searching for a friendlier appearance. For achieving this, instead of the linear block (9 storey + recessed penthouse) proposed by planning, a lower and broken up building was designed. The benefits of this gesture with regard to the linear block is that this way the house faces more orientations achieving both better urban scale and, from the inner perspective, better air circulation and natural lighting.

Image Courtesy estudio UNTERCIO 

• Architects: estudio UNTERCIO
• Project: El abrazo
• Location: Ecobarrio, Puente de Vallecas, Madrid, Spain
• Client: EMVS (Empresa Municipal de la Vivienda de Madrid)
• Program: 104 apartments (social Dwellings., 104 underground parking places., 60 sqm  of communal space on ground floor. Shared space for the neighbours.
• Site Area: 2010 sqm
• Total Floor Area: 13.414,68 sqm
• Landscape Area: 1646 sqm
• Architects: Miguel Herráiz Gómez, Mauro Iván Bravo Hernández, Marina del Mármol Peces, Daniel Bergman Vázquez
• Building Engineer: Alfonso Sáenz García

Image Courtesy estudio UNTERCIO

• Another Technicians Involved:
  Building facilities: ead AT ingenieros S.L..
  Structures engineering: Mecanismo diseño y cálculo de estructuras S.L.
  Telecommunication engineering: Diego Lara, Ingeniero de Telecomunicaciones (DILAR, ingeniería y consultoría.
• Project Time Frame:
  2010 – First prize open competition.
  2010-12 – Start design.
  2014 – estimated Start construction.
  2016- estimated Project completion.
• Planning Constraints : PHYSICAL SPATIAL: Linear Open block .
• Construction: Concrete basement. From foundations up to top floor: reinforced concrete slab on column grid at 5-6m.
• Materials:
  Facades –  Baumit EPS Heat Insulating System. External wall insulation system (ETICS). Facade plates made from hard polystyrene foam act as heat insulating layer applied over a brick wall. Weather- resistant, vapour permeable finishing coal is added.
  Parklex- high-density stratified timber panel manufactured from kraft paper treated with resins thermoset under high pressure and temperature, finished with natural timber veneers highly resistant to UV radiation and atmospheric agents.
  Window openings – Technal– windows of folding type (aluminium profiles)  mod. EPURE, concealed leafs with high thermal and acoustic performance.
• Building Costs: 5.446.116,82 €

Image Courtesy estudio UNTERCIO

The strategy for achieving a friendlier building can be expressed through following these steps: Firstly building the allowed surface at ground floor, avoiding the need of putting up Penthouses, secondly occupying the full width of the plot. This way we reduce the high of the edifice from nine to eight storeys. In third place causing the sense of diversity of the building joined together by two open courtyards and distinguishing the facade finish in both resulting volumes.

Image Courtesy estudio UNTERCIO

As a result, from the urban point of view, the scale of the building reduces (diminishes)and giving the feeling that the two volumes embrace each other. In a building with one vertical access core and an internal corridor the most difficult task was to get as many as possible double-facing housing units. For that purpose an 8 corners building was adopted where 8 out of 12 units are corner dwellings.

Image Courtesy estudio UNTERCIO

Likewise, covered open air space in ground floor has been designed as playground and as relational space. This covered open air space is designed as a continuous landscape along with the roof garden above car park and the green public spaces of the neightbourhood.

Image Courtesy estudio UNTERCIO

Corner dwelling achieves cross ventilation between rooms facings two different orientations because of different wind pressure over the facades. In addition, helps improving the laying out and maximizing spatial continuity. Thermal stability will be achieved through exterior insulation and using slabs as solar storage.

Image Courtesy estudio UNTERCIO

Image Courtesy estudio UNTERCIO 

Image Courtesy estudio UNTERCIO

Tags: Madrid, Spain

Categories: Apartments, Housing Development

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